Fuel system and vehicle

Abstract

This invention provides a fuel system and a vehicle that can improve the ease of leak checking. The fuel system includes: a plurality of fuel storages; filling piping that connects the fuel storages to a filling port in parallel; and supply piping that connects the fuel storages to a fuel supply destination in parallel. An integral manifold is formed by integrating a filling manifold part disposed at a branching point of pipes of the filling piping and a supply manifold part disposed at a branching point of pipes of the supply piping with each other. The integral manifold has a leak checking port configured to allow introduction of a fluid for leak checking into the filling piping and the supply piping.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A fuel system comprising a plurality of fuel storages; filling piping that connects the fuel storages in parallel to a filling port to be connected to a fuel gas filling apparatus; and supply piping that connects the fuel storages to a fuel supply destination in parallel, the fuel system further comprising:
 an integral manifold, which comprises a filling manifold part that is integrated with a supply manifold part,
 wherein the filling manifold part is at a branch point in the filling piping, and serves as the interconnection between a common filling pipe that extends from said filling port and a plurality of separate filling pipes that extend to the respective associated fuel storages; and the integral manifold further comprising a filling flow channel that connects said common filling pipe to said separate filling pipes; 
 wherein the supply manifold part is at a branch point in the supply piping, and serves as the interconnection between a common supply pipe that extends from said fuel supply destination and a plurality of separate supply pipes that extend to the respective associated fuel storages; and the integral manifold further comprising a supply flow channel that connects said common supply pipe to said separate supply pipes; 
 the integral manifold further comprising: 
 a communication flow channel that connects said filling flow channel and said supply flow channel to each other; 
 a valve for opening and closing said communication flow channel, and 
 a leak checking port configured to allow introduction of a fluid for leak checking into said filling piping and said supply piping, and when fluid is introduced into said leak checking port with the valve opened, the fluid flows into said filling flow channel and said supply flow channel. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The fuel system according to  claim 1 , wherein said leak checking port is formed on said valve. 
     
     
       3. The fuel system according to  claim 2 , wherein said valve is a manual valve having a manual operation part, and said leak checking port is formed on said manual operation part. 
     
     
       4. The fuel system according to  claim 1 , wherein said filling manifold part and said supply manifold part are positioned adjacent to each other in said integral manifold. 
     
     
       5. The fuel system according to  claim 1 , wherein said fuel storages are high-pressure tanks storing a fuel gas, and said fuel supply destination is a fuel cell. 
     
     
       6. A vehicle having a fuel system according to  claim 1 , wherein said integral manifold is disposed between said plurality of fuel storages. 
     
     
       7. The vehicle according to  claim 6 , wherein the vehicle has two cross members disposed between said plurality of fuel storages,
 said integral manifold is attached to one of the cross members, and 
 a regulator provided on said supply piping is attached to the other of the cross members.